In this episode we poke fun and debunk our favourite "useless" physical exam manoeuvres that we continue to teach our medical students. We couldn't cover all of them in one go, so stay tuned for more...

Try the app DxLogic on the iPhone to have a quick reference to the utility of many studied history features and physical exam manoeuvres.

Also, check out JAMA's series of articles entitled "The Rational Clinical Exam".

Enjoy a short episode where we bring you our highlights of the DEM2016 conference in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

This is a very well-organised, relevant, and creative conference, and it just gets better every year. Consider attending the next DEM conference. Either in Boston in one year, or come to visit our neck of woods for the first Australasian DEM in Melbourne in May! You can get more information on the SIDM website:

This is part 1 of 2 where we explore the work of Dr. Lawrence Weed. If you haven't already, before you listen to this episode, have a look at his 1971 Grand Rounds lecture to an audience at Emory University.

We decided to call this episode an "in-between-isode", borrowing the term from the Tim Ferris show. Its a short follow up continuing with our theme of feedback. How do we provide an evaluation for a strong performer? Does it help them to hear how great they are? Will it be a useful session? Will it help them improve even further?

In this episode we begin our foray into the topic of feedback. You will hear us "worry out loud", together with our guest Dr. Chris Watling from the University of Western Ontario, about the difficulties in giving effective feedback to our trainees.

Several themes arise from our conversation. Feedback needs to be specific, credible, and not soul-destroying (although ironically, we each shared some of our most traumatic feedback experiences as the most memorable, and influential, course-correcting moments). How we give and receive feedback is not only dependent on the individuals involved, but also importantly on the culture of the discipline; medical training culture is different from musical training, different from athletic training.

Also, keep an "ear" out for our new segment, the BOM (Bias of the Month). Enjoy!

We're trying something new this week. We go through a case of a diagnostic error with a fine tooth comb to try to find the cognitive pitfalls. We would love to hear your feedback about this episode. Should we do this again?

Finally, our much awaited third try with Stump the Chumps. This time one of our registrars Dr. Brian Grainger challenges us with a case of a young patient. This is a longer episode, which I guess reflects the fact that sometimes, when the diagnosis is not obvious, you just have to take your time. Enjoy!

What is compassion fatigue? Can you learn how to be more compassionate with your patients? We talk to Dr. Tony Fernando, psychiatrist, sleep specialist, educator and researcher, about compassion in healthcare, happiness, mindfulness, enlightenment, buddhist monks, and a bunch of other stuff. Enjoy!